PHYS 102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 24: Diffraction, Refraction, Spectroscopy
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PHYS 102 Full Course Notes
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The wave theory of light is strongly supported by the observations that light exhibits interference and diffraction. Wave theory also explains the refraction of light and the fact that light travels more slowly in transparent solids and liquids than it does in air. The new wave front is the envelope (the common tangent) of all the wavelets. The wavelength of light in a medium with index of refraction (cid:1866) is: Where is the wavelength in vacuum; the frequency is not changed. Young"s double-slit experiment clearly demonstrated the interference of light. The observed bright spots of the interference pattern were explained as constructive interference between the beams coming through the two slits, where the beams differ in path length by an integral number of wavelengths. The dark areas in between are due to destructive interference when the path lengths differ. The angles at which constructive interference occurs are given by: sin=(cid:1865)
